Carlos Ovando (’61) is a professor at Arizona State University and the recipient of the 2010 Distinguished Latino Alumni Award from Indiana University for his research and teaching focusing on the intersection of language policy, educational leadership, culture, curriculum, and instruction. He is a much sought-after expert on the effect of globalization on education and his book, Bilingual and ESL Classrooms: Teaching in Multicultural Contexts, is used by more than 300 universities. His most recent work involves societal and educational dynamics related to reverse migration in which families of Mexican origin—with English-speaking children familiar only with American culture—return to Mexico as a result of anti-undocumented legislation such as SB1070 in Arizona. However, Ovando’s life path may have been quite different, had it not been for the encouragement of a Bethany teacher, Rosemary Wyse Reimer (F’58-62, 65-66), 50 years ago.

Now a naturalized citizen, Ovando left Nicaragua and came to Texas, where as a teen he experienced firsthand issues that confront language minority students. He wondered why many of his schoolmates seemed ashamed to speak Spanish and why he was punished for speaking Spanish on school grounds. He recalls feeling alone in a strange, and sometimes hostile, world, wishing he could show teachers and classmates that he was intelligent. But after flunking sixth grade, he began to doubt his intellectual abilities and his Latin American heritage.

His family’s move to Defiance, Ohio, further immersed Ovando into English-speaking American culture, in which teachers seemed insensitive to his struggles to understand this new world. However, his academic career turned around when, through a series of events, his father sent him to Bethany. Ovando says, “There, I worked for my room and board, improved my conversational skills in English, and learned important lessons from the Mennonite community about the work ethic and about caring.” 

At Bethany he connected with Wyse Reimer, who took a personal interest in him and convinced him to take her Spanish class—to improve his own skills and to enrich others, including herself. Ovando says, “I was impressed that a teacher was willing to learn from a student.” Further, her allowing him to sometimes take charge of class increased his confidence and gave him opportunity to succeed among his peers in the one area of his life that he felt secure, Spanish language. With Wyse Reimer’s encouragement, Ovando entered a statewide competition in Spanish and placed second! And that was the spark that led to a flood of scholarships. After graduating from Goshen College, Ovando taught high school Spanish, was one of 15 people nationally to receive an Experienced Teachers Fellowship to study in Spain, and ultimately earned a Ph.D. from Indiana University. Ovando, who has continued to communicate with Wyse over the years, says, “Thanks to Rosemary, I envisioned myself in the world of ideas that has led me to where I am today. She opened the door for me.”

Wyse Reimer’s own interest in Spanish began when Spanish-speaking migrants came to her home community to work in a local agribusiness and no one could converse with them. This inability to communicate motivated her to study Spanish at Goshen College. In reflecting on her role in helping Ovando change the course of his life, Wyse Reimer says, “It wasn’t a great thing that I did, but it led to great things.” And she adds, “If we give students a little confidence, they can do marvelous things.”

Eiplogue: To read more about Ovando, including how he reconnected with his mother in recent years, see his profile at Arizona State University.